'Law Abiding Citizen' has a lot of action thrills, but little else
By: Sally Kline
Examiner Movie Critic
October 16, 2009
If you go'Law Abiding Citizen'
1 out of 5 Stars
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Viola Davis
Director: F. Gary Gray
Rated R for strong bloody brutal violence and torture, a scene of rape, and pervasive language.
Running Time: 108 minutes
Give this "Citizen" a rest.
That bad pun may ruin my chances for a Pulitzer Prize. But only smirking ridicule is deserved of this big-name revenge thriller that begins as nastily violent exploitation and ends as laughably bad mess.
On the surface, "Law Abiding Citizen" has a lot going for it.
The commercial genre piece boasts plenty of action and graphic thrills. It stars macho hottie Gerard Butler (who also produces) as a severely wronged family man and Jamie Foxx as a well-intended Philadelphia prosecutor in narrative opposition to each other. It comes from experienced filmmakers, director F. Gary Gray ("The Italian Job," "Be Cool") and screenwriter Kurt Wimmer ("Street Kings," 1999's "Thomas Crown Affair"). Several tried-and-true, recognizable character actors appear in support, including Bruce McGill as Foxx's boss, Colm Meaney as a cop, and recent "Doubt" Oscar nominee Viola Davis as the mayor.
But all these factors do is raise expectations, making the shoddy result seem even worse than it this were just a self-acknowledged Z-grade cheapy.
The problems are many: stock characters, bad acting, story illogic and insane plot impossibilities. The higher the body count mounts to encompass almost everyone, the more you can predict it and the less you care.
The initial setup recalls Charles Bronson's "Death Wish" franchise. And for a few short minutes you are invested. Clyde Shelton (Butler) watches his wife and little daughter get raped and murdered in a home invasion. City attorney Nick Rice (Foxx) expedites the case due to technicalities. And the main perpetrator, gloating sadist Clarence Darby (Christian Stolte), ends up with a relative slap on the wrist.
What neither Darby nor Nick realize is that they've picked the wrong person to anger. Clyde just happens to be the ultimate gadget guru, a brilliant engineer with mysterious ties to the world of international espionage. This covert vigilante will have his diabolical revenge on Darby within the first half-hour of the picture. So you just know that the anti-hero will have to go after Nick and the legal system next. An ever more elaborate/impossible series of homicidal scenarios ensue.
We still root for Butler's brazen killer even after he goes over the bend and Foxx's good guy tries to stop him. Why? Because Foxx is impotent playing a standard character type who isn't blind or schizophrenic. And because the "Law" is so poorly written.
